What’s New For Dinner: “Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day”

Welcome to my series called “What’s New For Dinner?” This is going to be a weekly posting sharing a new recipe that I have tried throughout the week. This is my way of keeping our meals from getting boring and attempting to try new foods. I’m doing this fun challenge with my friend, Jenn from Super Jenn. So check her site for what she’s tried this week, too!

My apologies on getting this posted late. I got caught up in some other projects and forgot to post it this week! This week’s recipe challenge was a fun one. One that was several months in the making. Oh, it didn’t take that long. But I’ve just had the book about that long with the intent of “someday” hopefully happening. My dear friend, Christy, put up a posting on how she makes homemade bread using Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients. I left her a comment saying it looked like fun and I’d have to get the book sometime. Well, immediately she sent me a text message saying, “Jaycie, No! Don’t buy it! It’s already on its way to you.” The sweetie sent me a surprise copy. We do this sometimes when we come across something we love. We’ll surprise the other one with something just to brighten their day. I am so truly blessed to have her as a friend.

I couldn’t quite get to making the bread as I didn’t have any of the supplies that I wanted to use. Well, over the holidays, I watched for deals on a Baking Stone, a Pizza Peel and worked on finding the right sized container for the bread to rise. (Found a set at Sam’s Club) You can make it without the stone or peel, I’m sure, but I planned on making this frequently enough to make it worth the investment. The Pizza Peel I found is so gorgeous that I just hang it up as a wall decoration in my kitchen, when it’s not in use!

This was a simple recipe so I let the kids help me with it. I always let them help me in the kitchen when it comes to just dumping in ingredients and stirring. When it comes to hot ovens/stoves, that becomes their playtime and I finish up. Here’s how the process went:

We mixed up all the ingredients in a 6 quart container, put a lid on it (popped a little to vent) and then it rise at room temperature for 2 hours. No kneading involved! It then said it was easier to work with cold and the flavor is best if you wait for 24 hours. So after it was done rising, we put it in the fridge and waited.

Then, I took out the dough, dusted it with flour and cut off a 2 pound piece and formed it into a loaf shape. I placed it on my pizza peel, covered it with saran wrap and let it set for 90 minutes.

30 minutes before baking time, I preheated the oven to 350. After the 30 minutes were up, I placed the loaf onto the baking stone and let it bake for about 45-50 minutes.

When it looked nice and golden, I took out the loaf and let it cool on a Cooling Rack. We had warm bread for some sandwiches and more dough in the fridge for more loaves later in the week.

Now the reason I’m not sharing the recipe with you is because there are so many recipes in the book. This particular one was for soft whole wheat sandwich bread. Also, Amazon has a great video clip of How To Make The Bread. They used a different recipe than I did but it’s one you can try.There are far too many varieties to post. The book is well worth checking out at your library–and then purchasing if you find it’s right for you.

This was a fun little adventure for me and the kids. They got the biggest kick out of watching all the steps in the bread-making process. We are going to be adding this to our weekly routine as there’s just nothing like the taste (and smell!) of homemade bread.

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Comments

Your bread turned out so BEAUTIFUL!! Great job! I’m so happy you enjoyed making this bread. I’m truly blessed to have you as a friend as well and I LOVE sending you little things that brighten your day! I’m loving your new “What’s for Dinner?” series, great job! Miss you!

I have their first book, Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day. Got it about 3 weeks ago and I bake fresh bread every 2-3 days. Today it was European Peasant Bread. If you’re a bread lover, these books are must-haves. It’s so easy, anybody can do it. I’ve also made Italian Semolina Bread, Brioche, Rye w/caraway seeds, and pizza crust. And with Easter coming up, there’s a fantastic recipe for sweet bread that I can’t wait to make!